New Mario and Sonic, Sonic 20th Anniversary Game Rumored

New Mario and Sonic, Sonic 20th Anniversary Game Rumored

UPDATE: For the sake of being cautious, we’ve decided to change this from confirmed status to “rumor”, because there has been no confirmation from SEGA, or media released from either game. So take the below information however you choose.

All of this information comes to us via the Spanish website Sonic Paradise, thanks to a tip sent into us by SEGA Forumer Shadiwulf.

We’ve all known it was coming. Every 5 years, starting with Sonic Adventure 2, we’ve gotten an anniversary game. One is considered one of the best games in the series, the other one of the worst. SEGA has made it clear in the last year that they want to repair Sonic’s image, and bring back the elements that made his games fun. Whether they’ve succeeded or not is up for you to decide, but one things for sure, the nostalgia train isn’t ending with Sonic 4 and Sonic Colors. Enter: Sonic Anniversary.

Sonic Anniversary, which should be considered a tentative title for the time being, will be a compilation of Sonic’s best levels from across his career adapted to the current generation of consoles. These levels are said to be a mix of 3D and 2D, though Sonic Paradise was unable to confirm whether or not it would be done via interlevel switches ala Sonic Unleashed, or if the dimension would be relegated to whether the level was 2D or 3D originally. So it is unknown whether there will be any 3D areas in remade classic levels, or all new 2D areas in the remade 3D levels.

What Sonic Paradise could confirm, however, were the platforms: the game is currently slotted for Wii, DS, PS3,and even PSP this time around. The Xbox 360 version is “still under negotiations”, though considering that a next gen Sonic game hasn’t missed the Xbox platform yet, it’s probably a shoe in. This game is believed to be the “Sonic Anniversary” game originally revealed in the leaked Sony document over a year ago. It’s expected to come out at some point during 2011, in time for Sonic’s year long anniversary celebration.

A new Mario and Sonic game was also confirmed, though no additional details where given. Sonic Paradise speculates that Mario and Sonic will have something to do with the 2012 Olympics. Given the trend of the last two games in the series, this is very likely.

To read additional details on how the info was obtained, please visit Sonic Paradise.

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Nuckles87

Nuckles87 has been an editor at Sonic Stadium since 2007, and has been covering events like E3, PAX, and SDCC since 2010. An avid retro gamer, he runs a monthly stream on Twitch where he explores obscure Sonic oddities, and how aspects of the franchise have evolved over the decades.

75 Comments

  1. SEGA has successfulled!!1
    Sure hope there’s some Sonic 3 levels in there. Angel Island is a pretty place.

  2. …Don’t suppose there’s any chance of getting a Mario and Sonic game that’s a platformer and not a mini game cash-in? Regardless, Anniversary sounds great.

  3. I wish they could just make a Mario and Sonic Adventure game….Nintendo and SEGA will make BILLIONS AND BILLIONS.

  4. The anniversary game sounds good to me. I personally hope they don’t make another Olympics title and give us a proper Mario and Sonic game maybe a platformer. That would be awesome.

  5. Though cool and interesting, and as detailed as it is, very likely (yet obviously likely to be false as well XD) I still hope there’s more than just that to come. =)

    Otherwise, I’m interested in seeing how this is pulled off if what is said is true. o.o

  6. i dont wanna jynx is but i have a feeling we’re gonna see another mario and sonic sports title. either way you put it so im not going to concern myself with it. i maybe wrong but i just know it sicne it seems obviosu to me. im more interested in the anniversary game. it sounds interesting.

    *coughs in the background* bring back dragon road form unleased…

  7. Please listen to this message Sonicstadium! We ALL would love a Mario and Sonic platformer game! In the winter games, Mario and Sonic became friends! so why not make an adventure game?? If they make an Olympic game 2012, then they would have to be rivals again, and that would be stupid…please SEGA and Nintendo make a game that’s like Super Mario Bros. Z or something…idk if you’ve heard of it SonicStadium, but its awsome! MARIO AND SONIC 2011 or 2012 😀

  8. Release for the Wii you say? Sonic Unleashed-style gameplay without Werehog you say?

    Sold.

    I hope this is true.

  9. Sonic Anniversary must have levels for me personally (All acts for each Zone):

    Sonic 1:
    Green Hill Zone
    Star Light Zone
    Sonic 2:
    Chemical Plant Zone
    Metropolis Zone
    Death Egg Zone
    Sonic 3 & Knuckles:
    Ice Cap Zone
    Sandopolis Zone
    Doomsday Zone
    Sonic CD:
    Stardust Speedway
    Sonic Adventure:
    Speed Highway
    Super Sonic Vs. Chaos (Perfect Chaos)
    Sonic Adventure 2:
    Sonic Vs. Shadow (Final Rush/Chase)
    Sonic R:
    Radiant Emerald

    Think that’s about it honestly. I’m sure some will agree and some will disagree these are just the levels i enjoyed the absolute most from the games.

  10. Anniversary sounds good, but I’m wondering exactly how it’ll be executed. I mean, if it’s just the levels sitting there in a menu, and that’s it, no story to link them together or general features that other mainstream Sonic titles have had, then that only sounds like it’ll keep me occupied until I’ve complete each level two, maybe three times. It doesn’t sound like it has any progression to it so far, but then again it’s all just a rumor right now and there’s no real information, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

    Since the Mario & Sonic series has only consisted of Olympic mini-game titles, I’m guessing that’s what they’d do for next year, even though technically the only difference between the first and this one would be and different location and more games (and who doesn’t want more games?). I can’t really think of any other large event or type of sport they could do that they haven’t already (Mario Kart/All-Stars Racing, Mario Tennis/Sega Superstars Tennis), unless it’s a fighting game ala Smash Bros., which would be AWESOME!

  11. Personally if they do go with the Olympic theme again, I hope that they follow Winter Olympic’s DS version. Story mode was quite fun, even though you were forced to play as only Sonic and Mario on the hub even after picking up other players 9only cutscenes had other characters involved.)

  12. So after 20 yrs instead of getting a 100% original game we might just get a lame rehash of levels we already played before? I lost all interest in the 20th anniversary game if this is true.

  13. No more Olympics! We need a Sonic and Mario Adventure! Or at least a party game. It’s been like three years since we’ve had a new Mario Party. Think about it “Sonic & Mario Party”. It would be a reason to celebrate all year round.

  14. >Green Hill Zone
    >Labyrinth Zone
    >Chemical Plant Zone
    >Casino Night Zone
    >Hydrocity Zone
    >Marble Garden Zone
    >Ice Cap Zone
    >Death Egg Zone
    >Speed Highway
    >Final Egg
    >City Escape
    >Final Rush
    >Final Fortress
    >Kingdom Valley
    >Dragon Road
    >Jungle Joyride
    I’ll take 20.

  15. Interestin idea.
    If we get completely reworked levels, then this is interesting.
    Imagine the Mushroom 3D video…Playable!
    Here’s hoping for Stardust Speedway.
    (If the whole thing is true, like the rest of Sega leaks)

  16. ummmmmmmm i was hoping for sonic adventure 2 remake i have been a sonic fan since sa1 came out so this game may no apeal much to me. If it is like unleased (day stages not the wii ones though) or like the upcoming sonic colors yeah that would be good
    what do you guys think
    I am not sure…..would the game have a story line or be a selection of levels
    would it apeal to my genration of sonic fan or the 1991 generation
    would it have maybe some sonic adventure 1 and 2 remake levels since they can be described as legends and clasics
    Tell me 🙂

  17. Hmm, the new Mario and Sonic game is very plausible, the Sonic Anniversary game however seems a little bit of a stretch to me.

  18. All this is lie, a rumor without fundamento. I am Manolic from Sonicreikai and I think this man told Raccar and Ash the Dragon a stupid lie for laughint at them.
    All this is a lie, a rumor.
    Repeat with me.

  19. I agree with TYoshi, this will just be DLC for Sonic 4.

    I think that IF sonic 4 really sells well that they try to put everything in that name so it will sell to. And do I dislike that idea? No. Look at those fan videos of S3&K how wonderfull it looks. Sure it’s nicer as S4 but only looking at that video makes me feel I want better grapics for a game I play for like >15 years!

    And whats wrong with it? If I have the possibility to download old levels in S4 engine style on xbox live marketplace I definitly would give it a try, for every sonic game that is.

    I just hope that this game get’s on my xbox. I’m seriously crying that Sonic Colors isn’t their on my xbox and won’t be…. It’s the sonic game I would love, but I don’t want to spend hundreds of euros for a console that I just use for one game.

    However, if the overrated (read dreamingnly great) rumors are true, and old sonic games get a really big update in 3d / 2d or whatever-D then the day they announce it, I would be sleeping outside the doors of the store waiting for the game to come.

  20. WOW! I’m extremely excited for Anniversary! I really hope I’m gonna see these Levels again:

    Labyrinth Zone
    Scrap Brain Zone
    WACKY WORKBENCH (My favorite Zone of all time!)
    Stardust Speedway
    Marble Garden Zone
    Sandopolis Zone
    Sky Deck
    Mad Space
    Cannon’s Core
    Egg Rocket Zone
    Chaos Angel
    Altitude Limit
    Dead Line
    Mad Matrix
    Cosmic Fall
    Blizzard Peaks
    Sky Babylon
    Eggmanland

  21. Win 😀 So long as the 3D levels they choose have the bugs in tem fixed then SEgA are onto a winner. I personally hope for Spagonia’s daytime level. I loved rooftop run so much!

  22. Well, this could go either way for me right now, it all depends on execution. I mean, think about how epic Angel Island or Music Plant could be in 3D, or how incredible and complex Egg Fleet or Final Rush could be when done in 2D. Think of how non-platforming games’ levels could be added, like The Nocturn or Digital Dimension. And there could be Badniks and Egg Pawns and SWATBots all scattered throughout them. Imagine Boss Rushing through some of the finest baddies throughout the franchise: Metal Sonic, Biolizard, Egg Viper, Emerl and the Eggmobile/drill tank all in a row. Think of all the wonderful remixes we might get for the featured stages and bosses.

    On the other hand imagine playing Green Hill Zone with Sonic 4 physics and City Escape with Sonic Unleashed Physics and then fighting Egg Dealer with who-the-hell-cares physics.

    I certainly hope there’s a plot, but I honestly haven’t cared about the plot of a Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2 and will buy it as long as the game’s good.

    Will there be new content? I’d wager there will be a stage or two that’s completely original thrown in there along with plenty or re-imagined stages that may as well be new.

    Tl;dr, I’m in stage 1 of The Sonic Cycle

  23. Here’s the choices for new Mario and Sonic game:

    A.Mario & Sonic Party
    B.New Mario & Sonic Olympics
    C.Mario & Sonic Kart aka Mario Kart Arcade GP 3
    D.Mario & Sonic RPG
    E.Mario & Sonic adventure game

  24. I understand SEGA trying to make another olympics game but come on havn’t we had enough of sports idea already; they should make a joint platformer (and if they have to nintendo could develop it).

  25. And now I eagerly await my re-imagining of Casino Night Zone from Sonic 2.

    I sure do hope these claims are legitimate.

  26. Awesome announcements.

    About Sonic Anniversary it could be a huge game with a huge story, with all the greatest level from Sonic 1 to Adventure 2 remixed. PLEASE NOT ALL 2,5 D. There’s Sonic The Hedgehog 4 ep II for that

    The game should be like colors with more 3D and the spindash back

    Mario & Sonic? A fighting game please

  27. To be honest, I’d doubt they would make an anniversary title with Sonic and Mario, for one it would be daft to even think of shoehorning in a character from a different franchise to celebrate ones birthday.
    It’s more likely that a new Mario and Sonic game will probably be mini-game related ala Shuffle/Party or even yet another Olympic games…which really wouldn’t make sense considering you have the same events, just at a new location.

    It’d be nice if they did release a game that implemented all the best things about the games over the years, whether it’s the Zones, Characters, Gimmicks (yes gimmicks can be good), villains/Badniks and of course the music!

  28. I forgot: Add 5 new Sonic chars and 5 new Mario chars,

    Rouge, Big, Jet, Espio, Omega

    Birdo, King Boo, Diddy, Toad,

  29. im suprised no one has said ice cap zone in 3dit could start like Sonic Adventure and then go into the level whoop

  30. Considering they took Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics off the market, I think this might finally be the mario and Sonic adventure platformer we’ve been waiting for!

  31. This is cool! The idea of a game with a mix of classic zones is an amazing idea! I’d definitely get it!

    Also, the Mario and Sonic CAN’T be a new Olympics. We’ve got both summer and winter covered, so it’s either mini-game, some sport, karting, or hopefully a crossover platformer.

  32. It would be amazing to see the old levels reworked to play like Colours or something. I’m just curious about what kind of story they will have to go with the anniversary game.
    I hope the next Mario & Sonic is a platformer, they can’t exactly rehash the same olympic events, can they?

  33. Im pretty sure they’re just giving the name “Sonic Anniversary” for it for the time being while they work on it (Kinda like what they did with Sonic 4 by calling it “Project Needlemouse”) I really dont think they would be that dumb to make a compilation game of all the good sonic levels in the past 20 years.

    I’m personally waiting to see if its Sonic Adventure 3

  34. To all the people who wants a SA3: What if it isn’t? Some ppl believes that if Sega slaps SA3 on the title then the game will be a quality game. I dont care what the game is called as long as the game itself is good.

  35. Hmm, I just thought about it. Most of my friends who are retro fans seem to like Sonic Adventure better than Sonic Adventure 2 (Which is the 10th anniversary game widely considered to be the best Sonic game ever)

    But then there’s next gen (the 15th Anniversary game largely considered the worst Sonic game ever). That game’s pretty bad… but I can’t say it’s the worse. If I had to choose between Sonic 06 and Sonic Labyrinth.. oh boy. I would definately not be choosing Labyrinth!! >.<

    But I thought it was every 10 years. I wasn't considering the 15th anniversary. o.o Doesn't it also say 15th anniversary on Sonic Riders? That game's not all that bad. XD (Pssh, I actually prefer it over Sonic Heroes. XD; Don't shoot me. ;~;)

    Sooo, the big question is… what's Sonic's 5th anniversary game? o.o And is this a pattern!? Good first game, bad 5th anniversary, good 10th anniversary, bad 15th anniversary, good 20th anniversary!? XDD

  36. @AX finally someone speaks the truth xD Labyrinth was an awful game

    Sonic Unleashed kind of was Sonic Adventure 3 in a respect…And if it wasn’t I don’t believe we’ll ever see a continuation of that series I’m sad to say.

  37. Hmmm… I can’t actually say I’m fond of this idea… It’s got some downsides…
    If Sega doesn’t carefully research, they might put levels in there that people aren’t as interested in. And even if they do, and they have polls and everything, there will probably still be a lot of fans who are upset because this level or that level wasn’t in the game (or on the other side of the fense, there will be fans who hated certain levels, but they were liked by a lot of other fans).
    And, personally, I don’t care too much for remakes… Someone else mentioned they wanted a remake of SA2. That would be nice, but I’d say it’s a job for a talented fan who can do fangames. If Sega remade SA2, I’m not sure I would buy it… and that’s my favorite game. They would have to add some pretty neat features. So, in the same way, I’m not really sure I would be interested in buying a game that is a “rehash”. Sure, I’d be interesting to see some 2D levels in 3D. But just seeing Sonic running through it would be enough for me. Which I could do on youtube. Then I wouldn’t feel a need to buy it.

    But this is assuming that there is no real change to the levels, besides the graphics/physics/camera angles getting some love. Now, if they changed the level layouts a bit to spice things up (so people don’t have the levels completely memorized before they buy the game), and gave the game a decent storyline (Because the storylines as of late… I just haven’t been fond of them.) then I would probably be more interested in buying the game. Or, at least, if they let you play any character you wanted through the levels (which would be kinda neat. And with differences in the way the characters are, playing different characters though the levels would present a nice challenge, even if you already know the level).

    This is just my personal feelings on this. I’m skeptical. =/ Also skeptical about another Mario and Sonic game… Sure, the other two succeeded… But, I’m not a mario fan. I play it sometimes, but putting Mario and Sonic together for a game with a storyline… I can’t see it. It wouldn’t represent Sonic to me, just Mario with Sonic’s name slapped on it. I guess that depends on exactly what it is too… After all, we’ve got almost no information.

  38. I’m so sick of freaking COMPILATIONS. It’s just recycled versions of things we’ve already PLAYED and already OWN. Come on – it’s Sonic’s 20th anniversary. Give us an epic new Sonic game. (SONIC game, not Sonic and Mario.)

  39. I sense yet another remake of Green Hill coming…

    I guess this is a cool idea, since there’s already 3 games coming out this year. But I hope they’re actually redone, not just the level plopped into the game, if you kinda know what I mean.

  40. @Kaoz Well both Sonic 06 and Sonic Unleashed had the project title of Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic 06 was closer the the Adventure series than Unleashed was but was bery buggy. (Both had Hub Wolrds, mind you.)

    But as far as I’m concerned, if it’s not called “Sonic Adventure 3” then it’s not Sonic Adventure 3. XD I do think it’s very unlikely we’ll see an SA3 buuut it’s not impossible. The existence of Sonic 4 helped make it a bit more likely. (Not to mention SEGA’s want to base Sonic’s games off what people liked most about the franchise in the past. I’m sure Sonic 4 (full game), Sonic Colors and SA3 would sum it up pretty nicely. XD)

  41. @Sapphire

    It’d be cool to see 2.5D gameplay like Unleashed/Colors but with 3D graphics for like all of the levels. Now THAT’d be a remake. XD (But then how would they go about Sonic’s actual gameplay? Would it be slightly different depending on the level? XD)

    But this sounds a lot like it’s just another “collection” game. ._. It’s really hard to tell what they mean by just those words really.

  42. @GoldenHedgy

    Pssh, yeah. SEGA was going through rough times. They’re not stupid! (Especially that stupid!) XD

    and yeah.. that is fanmade from a while back. lol

  43. And actually, this is starting to feel more like a rumor to me. I mean, even if this game is real, would this really be THE 20th Anniversary game? If both Sonic Riders and Sonic NextGen say 15th anniversary (and why wouldn’t it? They both came out in 2006) then isn’t it possible this is AN anniversary collab game but not THE 20th anniversary game we heard about earlier?

    The reason I say this is… out of the only 2 or 3 official sources we heard of this 20th anniversary game from, they’ve all mentioned it’s existence but practically said it was a secret big project! So what are the chances they’d really reveal this much about it only a month or 2 later still very early before it’s possible release?

    I mean, this isn’t just any anniversary! It’s the big 2-0! 2 decades! Plus it’s during the “returning glory” era after a streak of bad reception to the franchise. And they call it “big”. It’s gotta be something that’d really be awesome right? XD idk anymore…

    As for Mario and Sonic… I doubt it’ll be an adventure game. I have a hard time picturing Mario in a Sonic-like Storyline. And if you think about it, party games is more than 4/3 of all Mario does anyways! XD (And even his platformers are slightly different versions of other stuff he’s already done most of the time without much plot) I guess if Mario and Sonic did do a platformer together, it’d have to be creative to get it to even work. So I guess it’d be interesting if they ever finally did. o.o

  44. @Wilford111: A lot of fans like Chao, though. Personally, I think Chao should have just ONE game that is just about them, then the chao fans will be happy. I mean, they do that for other virtual pets… And then the people who don’t like chao gardens don’t have to have it interfere with their gameplay in Sonic games. That’s just me though.

  45. The chao gardens were fun because the sense of achievement of getting an awesome looking chao and experimenting with the different evolutions. It was a nice diversion of pace and it’s the reason why tamagotchis were so popular. 🙂 It’d be awesome for them to bring it back and put more into it, especially next gen graphics! 😀

  46. The phrase “One is considered one of the best games in the series, the other one of the worst” made me confused… Sonic Adventure 2 was obviously the worst… so what was the best game in the series? Even though ’06 was a disgrace, it was still more fun than SA2…

    Anyway, I’d enjoy a 3d remix of the classic stages… a release on the PSP thou? Sounds suspecious

  47. “New Mario and Sonic, Sonic 20th Anniversary Game Rumored”

    Next you’re going to tell us the Earth revolves around the sun, right?

  48. Hmm, I just thought about it. Most of my friends who are retro fans seem to like Sonic Adventure better than Sonic Adventure 2 (Which is the 10th anniversary game widely considered to be the best Sonic game ever)

    But then there’s next gen (the 15th Anniversary game largely considered the worst Sonic game ever). That game’s pretty bad… but I can’t say it’s the worse. If I had to choose between Sonic 06 and Sonic Labyrinth.. oh boy. I would definately not be choosing Labyrinth!! >.<

    But I thought it was every 10 years. I wasn't considering the 15th anniversary. o.o Doesn't it also say 15th anniversary on Sonic Riders? That game's not all that bad. XD (Pssh, I actually prefer it over Sonic Heroes. XD; Don't shoot me. ;~;)

    Sooo, the big question is… what's Sonic's 5th anniversary game? o.o And is this a pattern!? Good first game, bad 5th anniversary, good 10th anniversary, bad 15th anniversary, good 20th anniversary!? XDD

    but i like sonic adv 1 2 3 sonic battle sonic advance 1 2 3 and alot

  49. Everyone says that Sonic ’06 was rubbish, but I never played it, I think it looks quite good actually.
    What I hope is that we can have a new game set in the original Sonic world, with all the areas being zones (but not ArchieSonic version of the zones).
    I also want to see adventure stages like in SA, but for each of the zones.
    And a Chao Garden, but a customizable one.
    Also, I’d like Super forms to be an unlockable thing, which can be used any time once the game is complete.
    The characters I’d like to see are:
    Sonic (duh)
    Tails
    Knuckles
    Amy
    Shadow
    Eggman
    NACK!!!!!
    Chaotix

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